The Foreign Secretary says there is "nothing magic" about the pledge to make
EU migrants wait four years for benefits and the key aim is cutting migration

There is "nothing magic" about the four-year waiting period the Government has promised to impose on EU migrants seeking benefits, Philip Hammond has said.

After visiting all 27 EU capitals to win support for Britain's renegotiation of its membership, the Foreign Secretary opened the door to a compromise over a central part of this effort.

David Cameron needs to obtain concessions from the EU

Rather than focus solely on a four year wait for benefits, Mr Hammond said his main goals were to reduce inward migration and demonstrate that "EU intervention in our national life" has passed the "high water mark".

He added: "The important thing is we can look people in the eye and say 'we have crossed the high water mark of EU intervention in our national life'."

"It's not an end in itself - the access to welfare benefits - it's a means to an end"

Philip Hammond

As for the pledge of a four-year wait for benefits, Mr Hammond said: "There's nothing magic about four years. That's where we've set our stall and I think if anyone's going to suggest that it needs to be less, they'd have to show us that there's some compensating mechanism that would have the same effect on migration - because in the end this is about the impact on migration."

Mr Hammond added: "That's a very strong starting point that we would expect four years. But if I say to you, 'I'm going to give you a fortnight in Barbados and £20,000' and I come back to you and say 'you know what, you're only getting a week in Barbados, but here's half a million', you'll take that deal. I won't hear too much argument from you about that.

"Because it's not an end in itself - the access to welfare benefits - it's a means to an end. There are various other mechanisms that might be proposed that we might consider.

Jean-Claude Juncker Photo: EPA

"We are trying to reduce the number of inward migrants from the European Union. Clearly there is a wide range of ways of doing that."

As for the timing of the referendum, the Foreign Secretary ruled out July or August and said that it would be "odd" to hold a vote in the first half of September "when people have just come back from holidays".

"In the end this is about the impact on migration"

Philip Hammond

David Mundell, the Scottish Secretary, became the first Cabinet minister publicly to urge a June referendum. Speaking at a Holyrood lobby press lunch, he said: "There’s a strong argument to have it then, subject to there obviously being the necessary agreement, so that we can get on, have the debate and get the referendum out of the way.”

In the end, the timing of the referendum will be determined by when an agreement can be reached with the rest of the EU. “We’re in the hands of our partners,” said Mr Hammond. “Our preference is to get this done as soon as we can after getting a deal agreed. Once we’ve got a deal agreed, we can make a decision on making a recommendation. We will then move as swiftly as we can to a referendum.”